Kritika Kultura hosts the visiting Co-Directors of the Center for Philippine Studies (CPS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

On 25 November 2024, Kritika Kultura hosted two guest lecturers from the Center for Philippine Studies (CPS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The lecturers were Dr Patricia Espiritu Halagao and Dr Lorenzo Perillo, the current Co-Directors of the CPS at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Dr Halagao is a professor and chair of the Department of Curriculum Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa. She is also a trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), where she co-edits its journal; sits on the Hawai'i Board of Education, where she spearheaded the Seal of Biliteracy and Multilingual Education policies; and is an advisor to the student-driven Filipino Curriculum Project, where she helped launch the nation’s first statewide Filipino social studies course in Hawaiʻi schools.

Dr Perillo is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and affiliated faculty with the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies Program, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, ‘Ahahui Noi’i No’eau ‘Ōiwi (ANNO) – Research Institute of Indigenous Performance. He is also the author of conducted ethnographic and choreographic research on Hip Hop in Asia for his first book, "Choreographing in Color: Filipinos, Hip-hop, and the Cultural Politics of Euphemism," published by the Oxford University Press.

Kritika Kultura is the international peer-reviewed electronic journal of Ateneo de Manila University's Literary and Cultural Studies Program. The publication seeks to promote innovative scholarship that challenges traditional canons and established perspectives and enhance work that bridges disciplinary research around the issues enumerated above, especially in the promising lines of work in Philippine, Asian, Southeast Asian, and Filipino-American studies.

In the first lecture, titled "The Center for Philippine Studies: 50 Years and Beyond," Dr Halagao and Dr Perillo reflected on the CPS's 50-year history and summarized how its academic leaders, constituents, and programs continue to advance its mission and vision.

In particular, they discussed what the project of advancing Philippine Studies looks like from Hawaiʻi as well as why community outreach and mobilization in Hawaiʻi particularly unique and significant. As part of this, they provided recent, contemporary examples of how Philippine Studies has changed over time in Hawai'i.

They also shared a vision of the 50th-anniversary events and initiatives and some lessons learned about the state of the field from their respective disciplinary perspectives of Education and Performance Studies. 

In the second lecture, "Choreographing in Color: Filipinos, Hip-hop, and the Cultural Politics of Euphemism Book Talk", Dr Perillo discussed his book where he investigated the development of Filipino popular dance and performance since the late 20^th century. Here, he asked the question: what does it mean for Filipinos to navigate the violent forces of empire and neoliberalism with street dance and Hip-hop?

In particular, Dr Perillo focused on one chapter from the book that focuses on the “heroic migrant” as a figure of euphemism, which enables social critique about dancers’ critical role in both Filipino migration and Hip-hop’s globalization. Here, he looks at stories of Filipino dancers moving to and migrating abroad to find greener pastures, their struggle between continuing their careers at home or taking the risk abroad, and how all this has been romanticized as migrant workers continued to be portrayed as "the new heroes" (and bagong bayani).

As part of the event, Dr Halagao and Dr Perillo also participated in lively open forums answering questions and engaging in discussions with the attendees. The latter comprised of both Ateneo students and faculty, as well as faculty from other universities and institutions in the Philippines and abroad.